{"id":69613,"date":"2020-11-09T10:44:24","date_gmt":"2020-11-09T15:44:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=69613"},"modified":"2020-11-17T13:03:45","modified_gmt":"2020-11-17T18:03:45","slug":"critics-picks-classical-and-opera-livestreams-you-absolutely-need-to-see-this-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2020\/11\/09\/critics-picks-classical-and-opera-livestreams-you-absolutely-need-to-see-this-week\/","title":{"rendered":"CRITIC’S PICKS | Classical And Opera Livestreams You Absolutely Need To See This Week"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Critics
Classical music and opera events streaming on the web for the week of November 9 \u2013 15.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Critic\u2019s Picks (November 9 – 15)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

We live in an extraordinary Age \u2013 Carl Sagan.<\/em> The COVID-19 pandemic continues to profoundly disrupt our musical lives. The dreaded second wave shows no sign of waning, forcing virtually all venues to close once again. The venerable Teatro alla Scala has canceled its fabled opening night on Dec. 7, 2020, when it was supposed to stage a new production of Lucia di Lammermoor<\/em> with Lisette Oropesa and Juan Diego Florez. However, it won\u2019t be silent. According to Norman Lebrecht\u2019s Slipped Disc<\/em>: \u201cLa Scala will not remain silent this 7 December either. In the next few days we will announce the program of a concert conducted by Riccardo Chailly in which some of the greatest international singers will participate together with our orchestra, choir and ballet. We will not be able to have an audience in the hall but RAI will allow us to be seen by a wider, international audience broadcasting our 7 Dicembre<\/em> on channel 1 and on some of the main international TVs. It will be a message of will and hope for Italy and for all the theatres and artists affected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Francisco Salazar of Opera Wire<\/em> has reported that the closures have led to some protests. In front of the Teatro alla Scala and Teatro Comunale di Bologna, hundreds of artists protested with signs that read \u201cOpera is Work\u201d and \u201cMusic is Work.\u201d In Milan, baritone Simone Piazzola participated in the protest. In Bologna, singers Federica Vitali, Cristina Melis, Mariangela Sicilia, Angelo Veccia, Franco Vassallo, Luca Gallo, Marina Ogii, Marco Miglietta, and Lorenzo Giossi demonstrated against the government\u2019s decision. In Barcelona, 600 people protested the closures of all theatres and auditoriums in Catalonia. The protest was held at the Passeig de Gr\u00e0cia, which stopped traffic. Workers held up signs asking for government help and stating that \u201cCulture is secure\u201d.<\/p>\n

In North America, performing arts are virtually shut down. The National Ballet of Canada cancelled the rest of its season, as has the Metropolitan Opera and the COC. The Met Stars Live in Concert<\/em> series has seen many changes. One concert featuring soprano Pretty Yende and tenor Javier Camarena, scheduled for November 7, has been postponed due to the non-COVID illness of Camarena. The next show will be soprano Sonya Yoncheva, scheduled to perform on November 21 from the Schussenried Cloister in southwest Germany. Carnegie Hall just announced it has canceled all live performances until April 5, 2021. Lincoln Centre has canceled all performances for spring 2021, which means its Great Performers series and 2020-21 David Rubenstein Atrium Season, as well as the annual American Songbook series are all gone.<\/p>\n

Thankfully music lovers can turn to cyberspace for solace. Now that Wiener Staatsoper is closed, it is resuming its livestreaming. The Met continues with its free nightly stream, at 7:30 p.m. ET and available for 23 hours. This week is the second of a two-week program billed as From the Baroque to the Present: A Two-Week Tour of Opera History<\/em>. Trusty Wigmore Hall is soldiering on with recitals. If you are a Rufus Wainwright fan, don\u2019t miss his first opera, Prima Donna<\/em>, staged at the Royal Swedish Opera and available on demand.<\/p>\n

Monday 9<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Wigmore Hall | 1:00 p.m. ET<\/strong>\u00a0Lawrence Power (viola) and Ryan Wigglesworth (piano) present a program of works by Brahms, Britten, Dowland and Ryan Wigglesworth. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Met | Tchaikovsky\u2019s Iolanta \/ Bart\u00f3k\u2019s Bluebeard\u2019s Castle.<\/strong> Starring Anna Netrebko and Piotr Becza\u0142a in Iolanta, and Nadja Michael and Mikhail Petrenko in Bluebeard\u2019s Castle, conducted by Valery Gergiev. From February 14, 2015. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Tuesday 10<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

FANE | Margaret Atwood: Dearly, The Poetry Collection Of A Lifetime. 1:30 p.m. ET<\/strong> The celebrated Canadian author in conversation with Kirsty Wark, with readings and special guests. Baritone Joshua Hopkins sings a selection from Songs for Murdered Sisters, a work composed by Jake Heggie to new poetry by Atwood. Commissioned to commemorate the tragic murder of Hopkins\u2019s sister Nathalie in 2015. A ticketed event at \u00a310.00, the stream will be available for viewing for one week. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Met | Strauss\u2019s Salome<\/strong>. Starring Karita Mattila, Ildik\u00f3 Koml\u00f3si, Kim Begley, Joseph Kaiser, and Juha Uusitalo, conducted by Patrick Summers. From October 11, 2008. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Wednesday 11<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Toronto Mendelssohn Choir |\u00a0Remembrance Day Concert. 8 p.m. ET<\/strong> This concert honours and remembers Canada\u2019s Indigenous Veterans. The TMC, under conductor Simon Rivard, is joined by composer and guest curator Andrew Balfour, and Elder Dr. Duke Redbird for a program that brings together choral music, poetry and dance. The centrepiece of the program is Andrew Balfour\u2019s Notinikew. Movements of the work will be sung by Andrew\u2019s Winnipeg-based Camerata Nova and by the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir.\u00a0| Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Met | Puccini\u2019s La Fanciulla del West<\/strong>. Starring Deborah Voigt, Marcello Giordani, and Lucio Gallo, conducted by Nicola Luisotti. From January 8, 2011. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Thursday 12<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Met | Berg\u2019s Lulu<\/strong>. Starring Marlis Petersen, Susan Graham, Daniel Brenna, Paul Groves, Johan Reuter, and Franz Grundheber, conducted by Lothar Koenigs. From November 21, 2015. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Friday 13<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Met | Britten\u2019s Peter Grimes<\/strong>. Starring Patricia Racette, Anthony Dean Griffey, and Anthony Michaels-Moore, conducted by Donald Runnicles. From March 15, 2008. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Saturday 14<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Met | Philip Glass\u2019s Akhnaten<\/strong>. Starring D\u00edsella L\u00e1rusd\u00f3ttir, J\u2019Nai Bridges, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Aaron Blake, Will Liverman, Richard Bernstein, and Zachary James, conducted by Karen Kamensek. From November 23, 2019. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Sunday 15<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Met | Thomas Ad\u00e8s\u2019s The Exterminating Angel<\/strong>. A huge ensemble cast starring Audrey Luna, Amanda Echalaz, Sally Matthews, Sophie Bevan, Alice Coote, Christine Rice, Iestyn Davies, Joseph Kaiser, Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Antoun, David Portillo, David Adam Moore, Rod Gilfry, Kevin Burdette, Christian Van Horn, and John Tomlinson, conducted by Thomas Ad\u00e8s. From November 18, 2017. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Video-on-demand performances:<\/h3>\n

1) Wiener Staatsoper | Tchaikovsky\u2019s Eugene Onegin<\/strong>. Streamed on Oct. 31 and now on demand, Tom\u00e1\u0161 Hanus conducts this concept production by Dmitri Tcherniakov. Cast includes Helene Schneiderman, Nicole Car, Anna Goryachova, Larissa Diadkova, Andr\u00e8 Schuen, Bogdan Volkov, and Dimitry Ivashchenko. | Details<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

2) Oslo Philharmonic | Wagner\u2019s Siegfried Idyll<\/strong>. Members of the Oslo Philharmonic perform this great Wagner tone poem in Oslo Concert Hall, as part of Oslo Philharmonic’s Mellomspill series in the spring of 2020.<\/p>\n